Part 6

But he states "Brief Relation says nothing about the arrival of _either vessel_: it records simply the arrival of _these people_ here in England." Well that out-Herods Herod: how does he expect they got there? He certainly knows they embarked in both vessels, for Strachey says, "Wherefore they all ymbarqued in this new arrived ship and in the new pynnace, the Virginia, and set saile for England." Now, I advise this learned pundit to look among his mass of newspapers; and, if he finds the London Shipping List of that time, he may be enlightened. And if he still doubts let him ask the opinion of any of our best writers on New England history, and my word for it he will not find one to indorse his views. One, certainly, whose opinion is of the greatest weight, and as anti-Popham as himself, has given a decided negative to his assertions.

And now comes a long dissertation on the blessings that have been experienced in Maine, by Massachusetts extending its government over it. Some of these moral reflections may be true, but many of the inhabitants of that territory did not then see it. I certainly agree with him in his appreciation of the energy and intelligence of the settlers of Maine and their descendants. They are equal to, and very much resemble, those of the other New England States; but what this has to do with Popham, he don't tell us. And, finally, he undertakes in a note to give the writer of that famous letter about the ship a kick, by stating that a writer in a Portland paper has had his article badly printed by having it done so far from home; and, when revised, he will give it the attention it deserves. Very kind.

Having made a somewhat rapid survey of his three or four heavy columns, "a mighty maze, and yet without a plan," I will look at his famous first attack, or, as the writer in the Portland Advertiser calls it, "the fire of his skirmish line;" and will now give his assertions there a passing notice, glancing over his attack on the Memorial Volume, the defence of Gorges, and his abuse of their authors, who are perfectly able to defend themselves, and may do so hereafter. He talks strongly about "historical verities:" let us see how fairly he treats authentic history. And first, will he tell us where he finds the colonists called "convicted felons," "cowards, Old Bailey convicts and knaves?" and that "they had saved their necks by emigrating," etc., etc.? Can he point to the book and the page for these "historical verities"? He may it is true quote a writer who says "many of them were endangered of the law." So were many of the Plymouth colonists,--to their honor, when we consider what law was, and what protection human rights had under James I.

Again, let us look at his assertions relative to that "pretty pinnace." In his "first consideration," he argues that a sea-worthy vessel was never built by the colonists; and, by inference, would make us believe that it was not built at all, saying "there was not time between the 15th of December and spring to build a sea-worthy vessel,"--when not a person but himself who ever perused "Brief Relation" or "Strachey" doubted the building and sailing for England of such a ship. Next, "that they had no need of a vessel." As if they did not know their own wants better than we do. Can there be much doubt it was the intention of the projectors to have a vessel built, and that for this purpose they sent over "Master Digby and the carpenters"? And then he coolly states she was built of "green pine," and repeatedly calls her a "fishing boat," and implies that she went a fishing. Will he also give his authority for these statements? Every reader of history knows these assertions are untrue; and till he can clear himself of this charge, let him not undertake to lecture others on "historical verities."

It will be seen that I have not noticed his argument relative to the craft built by the French at Port Royal, and which by almost a miracle carried the survivors to their homes; for the reason that we were considering English occupation of New England, and that alone. French enterprise and colonization was an entirely different affair, and had nothing to do with the subject under consideration; and the writer of "the letter" could not fairly have anticipated that it could be made to refer to any but Englishmen. It will also be noticed that I have not undertaken to advocate or indorse the Popham enterprise and its effects in general, but only to show up some of the errors of its opponents. There is and will be a wide difference of opinion on that point; but all will agree that it has been of great benefit to printers, and that they have shed a larger quantity of ink in elucidating these controversies than was lost in blood in "P.'s" imaginary fights with the Indians at Sabino.

Having made a running review of "P.'s" long columns, I would in conclusion offer him some advice, which, I trust, he will receive in the same kind way in which it is given. First, do not fear that Popham history will ever in the slightest way overshadow the lustre of Old Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay. They stand too firm to be shaken: their true glories will continue to brighten and expand through ages yet to come, till they are appreciated and acknowledged throughout the world. Don't look on the very worst side of history: much of it is bad enough at best; and we can hardly read some of the annals of our own ancestors, written by themselves, without a blush. Do not write so ferociously: people are not frightened by ink, particularly Pophamites. "A kind word turneth away wrath." Don't ruin that preface to the reprint which you have had some two years in process of incubation, by bringing Popham and Gorges into it, when there is no occasion for it. And, as a general amnesty, even for the deepest crimes, is the order of the day, you had better accept it on the following cheap terms, viz., as hot weather is approaching, and, if you have not killed out the Pophamites entirely,--and I don't really think you have even ruffled a feather,--they will in August have their picnic celebration at Sabino as usual, now let us both attend. Then, after partaking of their chowder, we will smoke the calumet of peace; drink inspiration--if we can--from that ancient well, but certainly good cool water, and something in it, if you say so; and finally bury the hatchet in the remains of that old ditch, and pledge ourselves to everlasting peace.

JUNE, 1866. SAGADAHOC.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE POPHAM COLONY.

DOCUMENTS CIRCULATED BEFORE AND AT THE FIRST CELEBRATION, AUGUST 29, 1862.

"English Colonization in America. | Public Celebration." A brief sketch of the Colony, and of the proposed Celebration, by Mr. John A. Poor; which was sent to invited guests. July, 1862.

"Historical Celebration at Fort Popham, August 29, 1862." Programme of the Celebration.

"An Order for Morning Prayer" [read by Bishop Burgess]. 8vo, 8 pp.

[Thirty-Four] "Toasts | for the | Historical Celebration. | To be arranged hereafter in appropriate order." 8vo, 4 pp.

CARDS (4-1/2 by 7-1/2 inches):--

1. Latin Inscription for the Memorial Stone. On the reverse, an English Translation.

2. Latin Inscription as before. On the reverse, "The First Colony | on the Shores of New England | was Founded here, | August 19th, O. S., 1607 | under | George Popham."

A printed circular headed "Public Historical Celebration," dated August 12, 1862; which was sent to invited guests, with a "Private Explanatory Note," stating that the Celebration "is held under the auspices of the Maine Historical Society, which proposes to print a full report in the form of a Memorial Volume."

NEWSPAPER ARTICLES WITH REFERENCE TO THE FIRST CELEBRATION.

_Bath Sentinel and Times_, July 10, 1862. Mr. B. C. Bailey recommends calling a public meeting, to make arrangements for a Celebration.

_The same_, July 22, 1862. The Mayor of Bath calls the meeting, for Monday, July 28.

_The same_, July 29. Report of the meeting.

_Portland Press_, July 30. Report of the meeting, List of Committees, etc.

_Daily Evening Globe_, St. John, N. B., August 23, 1862. "The First English Settlement in New England;" by John Wilkinson.

_Portland Advertiser_, August 28, 1862. The Order of the Celebration.

_The same_, August 30. 1862. An Account of the Celebration; with Mr. John A. Poor's Oration.

_The same_, September 3, 1862. Mr. Poor's Oration reprinted with corrections. Mr. T. D. McGee's Address, and Mr. R. K. Sewall's Response to a Toast.

_Bath Times_, September 1, 1862. An Account of the Celebration.

_Portland Press_, September 6. Mr. John Neal complains of the arrangements of the Celebration.

_Portland Advertiser_, September 8. Mr. Charles J. Gilman, the Chief Marshal, replies.

_Portland Transcript_, September 4. An account of the Celebration.

_Brunswick Telegraph_, September 6. An Account of the Celebration.

_Christian Mirror_, Portland, September 9. "A Sermon preached at Phipsburg, Me., on the Sabbath after the Celebration, by Rev. Francis Norwood."

_The same_, September 16. Mr. John A. Poor reviews Mr. Norwood's Sermon.

_The same_, October 7. "Popham Discussion:" Mr. Norwood replies to Mr. Poor; and "Popham Errata:" Mr. John Wingate Thornton reviews Mr. Poor's article of September 16.

_New York Journal of Commerce_, November 6. Report of the October Meeting of the New York Historical Society. Remarks concerning the Popham Celebration by Mr. George Folsom and Mr. J. R. Brodhead.

_New York Christian Times_, November 20. Fuller report of the same.

_Boston Evening Traveller_, November 21. Correspondence of Rev. William S. Bartlett, of Chelsea, and Prof. Emory Washburn, of Cambridge, concerning the Speech of the latter at the Popham Celebration.

_Congregational Quarterly_, Boston, April, 1863, Vol. v., p. 143-160. "Colonial Schemes of Popham and Gorges. By John Wingate Thornton, Esq., Boston." A Speech at the First Popham Celebration, with twelve and a half pages of "Notes and Authorities appended as proofs."

A few copies of this article were printed, with the following title page, as--

A PAMPHLET. "Colonial Schemes of Popham and Gorges. | Speech | of | John Wingate Thornton, Esq., | at the | Fort Popham Celebration, | August 29, 1862, | under the auspices of the | Maine Historical Society. | Boston, 1863." 8vo, 20 pp. [This Speech is not contained in the Popham "Memorial Volume."]

The above was noticed and discussed in--

_North American Review_, July 1863, Vol. xcvii., p. 288.

_Christian Examiner_, July 1863, Vol. lxxv., p. 143.

_Historical Collections of the Essex Institute_, August, 1863, Vol. v. pp. 175-192; by Mr. A. C. Goodell.

_Boston Review_, November, 1863, Vol. iii, p. 641.

_Historical Magazine_, New York, 1863, Vol. vii., p. 231.

_Christian Mirror_, Portland, April 28, 1863.

_Boston Journal_, August 11, 1863.

_Boston Evening Transcript_, April 24, 1863.

_Portland Transcript_, May 9, 1863.

A PAMPHLET. "The Connection | of the | Church of England | with Early | American Discovery | and | Colonization. | By the Rev. William Stevens Perry, M. A. | Portland, Maine. | 1863." 8vo, 7 pp.

Messrs. Bailey and Noyes, of Portland, Publishers, in April, 1863, issued a circular Prospectus for the publication of the "Memorial Volume;" soliciting Subscriptions.

"MEMORIAL VOLUME | of the | Popham Celebration, | August 29, 1862: | commemorative of the Planting of the | Popham Colony on the Peninsula of Sabino, | August 19, O. S., 1607, | establishing the Title of England to the Continent. | Published under the direction of the | Rev. Edward Ballard, | Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Celebration. | Portland: | Bailey and Noyes. | 1863." 8vo, 368 pp.

Bound with the same:--

"English Colonization in America. | A | Vindication of the Claims | of | Sir Ferdinando Gorges, | as the | Father of English Colonization in America. | By John A. Poor. | (Delivered before the Historical Societies of Maine, and New York.) | New York: D. Appleton and Company. | 1862." 8vo, [Address, 92 pp. Appendix, 52 pp.,] 144 pp.

"Popham Celebration | at | Sabino, | August, 1863." Programme in broadside.

The Popham Celebration of August 29, 1863, Mr. George Folsom, Orator, was reported in--

_Portland Daily Advertiser_, August 31, 1863.

_Portland Daily Press_, August 31, and September 3, 1863.

_Brunswick Telegraph_, September 4, 1863.

_Boston Witness and Advocate_, September 11, 1863.

_Boston Courier_, September 2, 1863.

_Portland Daily Press_, September 30, 1863: "Popham--Settlement--Memorial and Celebrations." Signed "P." [Mr. George Prince.]

A PAMPHLET. "The Beginning of America | A | Discourse | delivered before the | New York Historical Society |on its Fifty-ninth Anniversary | Tuesday November 17, 1863 | By | Erastus C. Benedict | New York | 1864." 8vo, 64 pp.

_Portland Daily Press_, January 29, 1864. Notice of Meeting of the Maine Historical Society, and of Judge Bourne's Reply to Mr. Thornton's Pamphlet.

A PAMPHLET. "An | Address | on the | Character of the Colony | founded by | George Popham, | at the | Mouth of the Kennebec River August 19th, [O. S.] 1607. | Delivered in Bath, | on the Two hundred and fifty-seventh Anniversary | of that Event. | By Hon. Edward E. Bourne, | of Kennebunk. | Delivered and Published at the request of the Committee on the Commemoration. | Portland: | 1864." 8vo, 60 pp.

The above was noticed and discussed in--

_Christian Mirror_, Portland, February 21, 1865.

_Boston Evening Transcript_, February 13, 1865; by Rev. George E. Ellis, D. D.

_Bath Daily Sentinel and Times_, August 30, 31, September 1, 1864.

_The same_, March 16, 1865. "Fort Popham Colony."

_The same_, March 16, 1865. "The Popham Settlement;" by Rev. Edward Ballard.

_The same_, March 30, 1865.

_The same_, July 7, 1865.

_The same_, September 1, 1865.

_The same_, September 2, 1865; by Mr. George Prince.

_Brunswick Telegraph_, September, 1864.

_Boston Journal_, August 2, 1865.

_Bath Daily Sentinel and Times_, May 3, 1864. "The Fort Popham Controversy," as to when and where Religious Services were first held in New England. Signed "D. Q. C." [Rev. D. Cushman.]

_The same_, May 5, 1864. "The First Worship in Popham Colony;" by Rev. Edward Ballard.

_The same_, September 2, 1864. "The First Sermon in New England." Signed "Candid" [Mr. George Prince].

_The same_, September 8, 1864. Reply by Rev. Edward Ballard.

_The same_, August 16, 17, 18, 24, 1865. "The Virginia Company's Northern Plantation;" by Mr. J. Wingate Thornton.

_The same_, August 23, 1865. Reply by Rev. Edward Ballard.

A PAMPHLET. "Remarks | on the | Popham Celebration | of the | Maine Historical Society. | Read before the American Antiquarian Society, | April 26, 1865. | By S. F. Haven. | Boston, | 1865." 8vo, 32 pp. [Mr. Haven's Remarks previously appeared in the Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society, at the Semi-Annual Meeting held at Boston, April 26, 1865; pp. 31-60.]

The above was noticed and discussed in--

_Boston Daily Advertiser_, April 27, 1865.

_The same_, August 2, 1865. "Popham Exhumed and Re-interred"; by Rev. Edward E. Hale.

_The same_, August 26, 1865: "The Popham Colony," by Mr. Charles F. Dunbar.

_The same_, same date: "The Popham Celebration;" by Rev. Edward Ballard.

_Portland Daily Press_, August 4, 1865.

The Celebration of August 29, 1865, was reported and discussed in--

_Portland Argus_, August 31, 1865.

_Portland Daily Press_, August 21, 30, 1865.

_Bath Daily Sentinel and Times_, August 23, 1865; by Rev. Edward Ballard.

_The same_, August 24, 1865.

_The same_, August 30, 1865.

_Boston Journal_, August 4, 1865.

_Brunswick Telegraph_, September 1, 1865.

A PAMPHLET. "Responsibilities of the Founders of Republics: | An | Address | on the | Peninsula of Sabino, | on the Two-Hundred and Fifty-Eighth Anniversary | of the | Planting of the Popham Colony, | August 29, 1865. | By Hon. James W. Patterson. | Delivered and published at the request of the Committee on the | Commemoration. | Boston: | John K. Wiggin, | 1865." 8vo, 38 pp.

The above was noticed and discussed in--

_Boston Daily Advertiser_, April 11, 1866: "The Last Popham Address;" by Mr. William F. Poole.

_The same_, April 21, 1866: "'The Last Popham Address,'" by Rev. Edward Ballard, D. D.

_Portland Advertiser_, April 26, 1866: "'The Last Popham Address;'" by Mr. Frederic Kidder.

_Boston Daily Advertiser_, May 31, 1866: "Popham Again and Finally;" by Mr. William F. Poole.

_The same_, July 28, 1866: "The Popham Colony, 'Finally;'" by Rev. Edward Ballard, D. D.

_The same_, July 28, 1866: "A Running Review of the 'Popham Again and Finally;'" by Mr. Frederic Kidder.

_Christian Era_, Boston, June 28, 1866; "The Popham Memorial;" by Rev. J. D. Fulton.

_The Episcopalian_, New York, May 19, 1866.

_Boston Daily Advertiser_, August 4, 1866: Report of the Meeting of the Maine Historical Society of August 2, containing a letter by Mr. John A. Poor, with regard to new evidences found in Carayon's Relations.

The Popham Celebration of August 29, 1866, was reported in--

_Boston Daily Advertiser_, September 1, 1866.

_Boston Journal_, September 1, 1866.

_New York Times_, September 4, 1866.

_New York Christian Intelligencer_, September, 1866.

_Brunswick Telegraph_, September 14, 1866.

A PAMPHLET. "The Popham Colony | A Discussion of its Historical Claims | With a | Bibliography of the Subject | Boston | Wiggin and Lunt 13 School Street 1866." 8vo, 72 pp.

* * * * *

Transcriber's Notes:

Obvious typographical errors were repaired, but older style spellings retained.

Hyphenation variants were resolved to most frequently used.